foundation for a truggy hauler...

guy relatively close to me has an old 5th wheel frame/axles that he has stripped and is selling cheap. Here is what it looks like...

He says the frame is 2x6"... but he didn't specify channel or tube (channel would be my guess). It has real 6-lug axles, as opposed to mobil home axles. Not sure if both have brakes... I asked him butm haven't heard back.

At any rate, I'd like to use a 5th wheel type trailer to haul my truggy around on... better handling, little more forgiving with respect to weight distribution etc. I also like that it has a large flat area in front of the bed that I could make into a "sleeper" if I wanted too. I'd prolly just put a wood deck on it at first and use a tent... but later I could go more bling and make things much more cozy.

Anyway, I think if I reinforced/beefed/gusseted the frame on this thing it could be a decent hauler. The plan would be to de-grime the entire thing, add some gusseting and some extra crossmembers, prime/paint everything, add wood decking to the sides (where the tires would go) and expanded steel mesh for the middle. Not 100% sure how wide it is between the tires, but if its narrower than a fullsize axle on 44s, I'd widen the beast a bit and add drive-over tube steel fenders. A tube rail around the perimeter would help stiffen things up also. Weld on some tie downs and she'd be ready to rock.

The guy only wants $250 for this thing... add a few hundred more for steel to beef it up and it could be decent. 5th wheel hitches can be found for sane prices on craigslist too. My guess is, by the time I was done messing with it, I'd have $1k into it. Its hard to even find a decent bumper pull for that. Assuming there is nothing wrong with the axle/frame/hitch on this thing, it seems like a decent deal... especially with the price of steel these days. youch!

Whats your towrig, anyway?
If nothing else you could probably make alot of your money back up by selling it for scrap =P (well not once you start building on it..i mean if you discover something bad with it)

waiting for better pics. The guy emailed me back though, said the main frame rails are 6"x2" tube... but the crossmembers are kinda light duty. Nothing I couldn't fix with some big c-channel + welding + gussets.

this things primary mission would be hauling my K5 around. for the unaware, my k5 is going truggy... no body or any other useless crap. Oughta be pretty light for a rig with 1 tons and 44s.

tow rig is a '75 GMC C25 Camper Special. 454, th400, ff14b. It will have a flatbed of some sort on it. The bed on there now is rusted to hell and gone.

man J, with out seeing it, it looks like it could be a project waiting for a worker. I wonder about the suspension, spindles, bearings, etc, Brakes? Structure? I guess you could probably get 100$ for scrap if it didn't work.

best go look at it. if its box tube thay are prity thin walled box. i had a pop up camper that was converted to flatbed duty. it lasted a few years till 1 day the 1 screw eye i welded to the 1 corrner riped off with little effort by my hands. the out side looked almost perfect but inside it was shot.

from the looks of the crossmembers on the tongue I'm gonna say thats an old camper. I stripped one for scrap and it had the same tapered end crossmembers. I thought about making it a hauler. too much work. there is no stiffness. the frame is designed to be stiffened by the body. think of it this way. you are getting 2 axles, frame rails, and hitch pin. everything else will need to be replaced like the wiring, lighting, brakes, breakaway kit.

It's gonna be narrow too. usually they are 96" from the outside of tires leaving you about 82-84 inches depending on how wide a tire you run.

yeah, you guys are prolly right. damn it... good trailers are so ****ing expensive these days. if the main runners on this thing where heavy-wall material, it'd still be worth it... because I could just buy a bunch of 5" c-channel and make my own crossmembers. Width isn't really a problem either... I'd just need some more channel. still... I'm willing to bet that the thickness on those runners isn't to good. Also, I'd much rather have a gooseneck than a 5th wheel type hitch...

deals are out there. you just have to be patient and always on the look out. I bought my deckover for $1700. its got a 18' x 96" deck and a 10,000 lb GVW. thats not exactly cheap, but a new one is $4000 in my area.

If I hadn't bought it I would have bought one for $2500. there was a local college selling four 20' deckovers that were only two years old. they went in the paper and all sold the first day. A friend of mine got one. you gotta be quick to the deal or someone else will get there first.

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